Animal Husbandry in the Agricultural Economy of Palestine
The following discussion is not too technical for the layman and will be read with interest not only by the prospective Palestinian but by all Jews who are interested in the basic industry of the Jewish Commonwealth. The author, who is an ardent Zionist of long standing, was graduated from The Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School, where he later served as instructor. He has had wide experience in dairy farming and is a recognized expert in Animal Husbandry.
GRICULTURE in Palestine has been experimental in A the past, and is still so, to some extent, at present. The future of agriculture in Palestine will have to be, in order to provide the necessities of the home population, based on more practical lines. To accomplish this, we will have to make practical use of experiments carried out in countries of similar soil, climate, vegetation, etc. Palestine is producing luxuries for an export trade and is importing necessities that can well be produced on her own soil. We are exporting wines, oranges, olives, etc., and importing beans, peas, potatoes, dairy and poultry products. The staple foodstuffs of the nation are receiving the least attention, both from our colonists and leaders in the field of agriculture.
To carry out a rational and permanent system of agriculture we must introduce Animal Husbandry into the agriculture of Palestine.
Palestine and California
Mr. Aaronsohn tells us that "Palestine is more like the state of California than any other in the Union in everything except size. It is remarkably similar in general topography, climate, vegetation and economic possibilities." Other authorities on agricultural conditions of Palestine are of like opinion.
Mr. Katzpronsky in THE MACCABAEAN of January, 1919, tells us, "We must raise in Palestine those crops which will bring us the greatest returns. He proceeds with the statistical data on hand about the fruit industry in California. He leaves the impression that California is only producing fruit. But California produces more than merely semi-tropical fruits, and so can Palestine.
I will here cite some agricultural statistics of California which deal with other than fruit-growing activities.
Animal Husbandry in California
Previous to 1900 California with a population of less than 1,500,000 was importing dairy produce. In 1915 the population was double that of 1900 and yet California was exporting dairy produce amounting to several million dollars. The number of dairy cattle in 1910 was 467,332 valued at $18,597,328. In 1917 there was 591,000 head of cattle valued at $39,597,000.
It would take too much space to attempt to present a detailed account of the dairy industry of the state of California. A few items, however, that may be of special interest to readers of THE MACCABAEAN, is the new branch that has been developed, during the war, in this state, viz.: cheese-making. "The latest butter section to be invaded by a cheese factory is Tulare, financed by a San Francisco
party. A corporation is building a $100,000 cheese factory." "In Sacramento, too, a large plant is being erected for the manufacture of cheese and milk by-products." (Howard's Dairyman, February 7, 1919, p. 108.) Speaking of the dairy prospects the same informant states: "The Oakdale Section is a good example. Over two million dollars were paid dairymen in that district during 1918."
San Francisco has one of the largest milk condenseries in the country. California today has as fine herds of dairy cattle as any state in the Union. In reading the agricultural press one is amazed at the rate by which noted dairy cows are being transferred to California. Prof. Wool of the California Experiment Station, in a discussion of the dairy progress of the state, says: "It is not necessary for California dairymen to go outside of the state for breeding stock, because cows of the highest type and productive capacity of all the important dairy breeds are found within our borders." (Cal. Bull., 301, p. 190.) The same is true of the entire dry belt of the United States, which is similar to Palestine in one way or another. These wonderful results are due to the superior conditions of climate and vegetation. Palestine grows all the forage plants, especially those that are rich in proteins, which are very valuable for feeding of productive animals such as milch cows, sheep, poultry, brood mares, etc. Alfalfa, one of these forage plants, grows luxuriously in Palestine. Mr. Aaronsohn told the writer, on his first visit to this country, that he gets six to seven cuttings of alfalfa a season. Dairymen of New York, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa consider themselves fortunate if they succeed in securing three cuttings a year. Recent experiments with irrigated pastures in Wyoming and Montana show that it pays better to keep cows in the semi-arid regions in irrigated land in Wisconsin or New York. (See Parson's Kimball's D. F., March 1, 1919, p. 28.)
We must always bear in mind that in a permanent system of agriculture, we must return to the land the plant food that has been taken by a crop, whether this be fruit or cereals. Without livestock we will sooner or later have to resort to commercial plant food. With a system of animal husbandry the removal of soil fertility is reduced to its minimum by properly taking care of animal residue, this to be applied, at regular intervals, to the land. In this manner we continually replace the chemicals that have been removed and, besides, we improve the physical condition of the soil. The latter is as essential for crop production as the chemical plant food.
Few readers of this magazine are aware of the fact that California is also a great poultry producing center. "One of the most intensive and widely known specialized egg producing centers in the United States is located in Califor-